Primary battery.



E. McGALL.

PRIMARY BATTERY.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14. 1915.

1,201,480. Patented 0ct.17, 1916.

% lew L M 40 copper coating on a plate in this manner is,

WITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

ED ARD McGALL, or oRANeE, NEW JERSEY, AssIeNoR TO NEW JERSEY PATENT COMPANY, OF WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PRIMARY BATTERY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 17, 1916.

Application filed September 14, 1915. Serial N 0. 50,625.

To all whom it may t oncern:

Be it known that 11, EDWARD MOGALL, a citizen of the United'States, and a resident of Orangel'in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Primary Batteries, of which the following-is a description.

vMy invention relates and particularly, but not exclusively, to that class of batteries in which the negative electrode consists of a plate or plates of oxid of copper or other depolarizing agent properly molded or agglomerated, and the positive electrode consists of a plate or plates of zinc. By the term positive electrode as used herein, I mean the electrode from which current flows through the electrolyte to the other or'negative electrode.

The negative electrode plates of batteries of this type are commonly made of agglomerated masses of oxid of copper formed under great pressureandbaked at high temperature. As oxid of copper is, in itself, a very poor conductor, it has been customary to provide such electrode plates with a thin coating or film of copper in order to insure proper conductivity'between the plates and tigprimary batteries their supporting frames and to render the plates themselves of suflicient conductivity to enable a battery provided with one or more of such plates to supply current substantially of the strength which the battery is designed to generate, to the battery circuit immediately upon closing the latter.

Heretofore the copperoxid plates have been provided with such by immersing the plates in, an electrolytic bath and.redi1cing the surface portions thereof electrolytically. The forming of the however, objectionable as part of the plate itself is employed in producing the conductive surface or coating. Furthermore, the copper coating so formed is spongy and therefore absorbs considerable liquid from siderable amount of currentis used in recoating of copper" ducing the surface of the plate, and some tlme elapses before the battery supplies the circuit With the full strength of current a substantially homogeneous molded or agglomerated -mass of oxid of copper and having on its exterior a thin slightly porous but substantially homogeneous film or coating of a single substantially pure conductive metal, preferably copper. The plate may either be entirely covered with such coating of conductive metal or provided with spaced surface portions thereof, as by applying thin separated bands or strips of such metal theret. This film or coating preferably comprises finely divided and very compact metallic particles which are adjacent to and overlap one another and are gnechanically united to'each other and to the plate, preferably by impact in the application thereof to the plate, to form an'integral part of thelatter and a slightly porous substantially homogeneous surface layer therefor. In producing suclfa conductive coating on an oxid of copper plate, I preferably atomize a molten mass of the metal it is desired to employ incoating the plate so as to produce a fine spray consisting of very finely divided and compact particles of the metal, and project such spray against the plate with great force.

The metallic spray is projected against the plate with sufficient force to cause the compact particles of metal constituting the spray to penetrate the pores in the surface of the ,oxid of copper plate and to become firmly united with the plate. The finely divided particles are more or less flattened under the impact thereof in striking the plate and as .they are projected against the plate closely adjacent each other. overlap and become firmly united to form a substantially homosecured at its ends to the arms of the hanger,

geneous surface layer. The plate may be entirely covered with a conductive metallic layer in this manner in a very short time. lVhen it is desired to provide spaced surface portions only of the electrode plate with the conductive metal, a suitable stencil plate is employed in conjunction with the electrode plate so as to expose to the projected metallic spray only those portions ot the electrode plate which it is desired to coat. In this method of coating a battery plate with a film of conductive metal, such as copper, no water or the like is employed, and consequently the liability of the copper coating becoming oxidized is reduced to a minimum, whereas when the conductive coating is produced by reducing the surface of an oxid of copper plate by electrolysis, which is a wet process, it is practicallyimpossible to'pre vent a considerable oxidation of such coating.

In order that my invention may be more clearly understood, attention is directed to the drawing accompanying and forming part of this specification, and in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view, partly in elevation and partly broken away, of a primary battery provided with a negative electrode plate embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged View in perspective of the negative electrode plate of the battery shown in Fig. 1; Fig. is an enlarged fragmental transverse sectional view of the plate shown in Fig. 2; and l. is a fragn'iental view, similar to Fig. 2, showing a modified form of a negative electrode plate in accordance with my invention.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing is shown a primary battery substantially of the construction disclosed in Patent No. 1,090,909, granted March 24, 1914 to E. G. Dodge. Referring to Fi 1, reference character 1 indicates an ordinary containing jar of glass or other suitable material, provided with a cover 2 of insulating material, such as por-. Reference character 3'represents a celain. frame or hanger preferably constructed of a strip of sheet copper or copper plated with iron, the edges of said strip being turined up to such an extent as to lie flat against the bevel edges of the negative electrode plate 4.. The hanger 3 is in the form of an inverted U, the two arms of whichhnld the edges oi the plate 4, and the hanger is supported from the cover 2- in any convenient manner, as by means of the plate'5 which is-countersunk in the cover 2. A screw 6 and a butterfly nut 7 serve to support the hanger from the plate 5, the hanger being provided with a suitable bearing 8 for the screw (3. The cross bar 9,

bears on the to i otlthe ne ative )late 4. The

lower end portions of the arms of the hanger 3 are bent inwardly, as shown at 10. to form a bottom support for the plate character 1,1 represents one of the two positive plates, the other positive plate not b ing shown, which are disposed on opposite sides of the negative plate in spaced relation thereto. A. block 12 of suitable insulating material, is secured in recesses provided therefor in the upper end portion of the negative plate 4: and in the cross bar 9, and each of the positlve plates is supported from the block b" means of a bolt 13 extendingthrough s block and a suitable connection ll mounti at one end on the bolt 13 and secured at other end to the plate.

T he negative electrode as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, consists of a plate composed of a mass 20 of molded or agglomerated oxid of copper and having thin spaced surface portions :21. in the term of bands or strips of metal, p eferably formed of substantially pure copper and preferably disposed in spaced parallel relation, applied to the exterior thereof in the manner aboe described. The bands or strips 21 extend entirely around the plate and are approximately .005 of an inch in i. it ness, the thickness thereof as shown in and being greatly exaggerated. for the purposes of illustration. As shown in. 3, the metal of which bands 21 are compo due to its application to the plate in the ner hereinbefore described, penetrates if pores of'the agglomerated mass of oXid' I copper, whereby the bands are firmly un to the plate and become substantially an integral part thereof.

Fig. l illustrates a modified negative electrode plate l in accordance with my invention, which plate consists of a, mass 20 of molded or agglomerated oXid of copper entirely covered with a thin coating or film .31. of conductive metal, preferably copper, applied thereto in the manner hereinbefore de scribed.

Having now described my invention, wi? I claim asnew and desire to protect by l ters iatent is as follows: I

1. A voltaic battery element havin a n'ietallic coatin said coating con finely divided compact metallic particles a jacent to and overlapping one another forming a substantially homogeneous singface layer, substantially as described.

2. An electrode element for voltaic i. teries having a. n'ietallic coating, said co comprising finely divided metallic para applied to the elementadjacent to each othw said particles being name or less flatter. .1 and overlapping and adhering to one other, forming a substantially homogene rual surface layer, substantially as described.

din oxid of copper element for w. batteries having a plurality of spaced nu lic surface portions. each of said surface ti'ons ('onn'u'ising finely divided comp: metallic particles adj it to and over" l?l. "\i)lh3 azmther, form a sunstantiaw homogeneous layer, substantially as described.

' 4. An electrode element for voltaic batteries having a plurality of spaced thin metallic bands or strips on the exterior thereof, each of said bands or. strips comprising finely divided compact metallic particles united by impact to each other and to said element to form an integral part thcretions comprising finely divided metallic particles applied to the element adjacent to each other, said particles beingmorc or less fiattened and overlapping and adhering to each other, forming a substantially homogeneous layer, substantially as described.

This specification signed and witnessed 2? this 13th day of Sept. 1915. I

EDWARD MGGALL.

Witnesses:

G. A. WALSH, WILLIAM A. HARDY. 

